Quarantine Period for Overseas Arrivals Shortened from 10 to 7 Days... Effective from February 4

On the 9th, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, arrivals are waiting at Terminal 2 arrivals hall of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Starting from the 4th of next month, the quarantine period for overseas arrivals will be shortened from the current 10 days to 7 days. Entry restrictions on short-term foreign visitors from 11 African countries, including the Republic of South Africa, will also be lifted.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced in a press release on the 28th, "In line with the dominance of the Omicron variant domestically and the corresponding shift in response measures, the quarantine period for overseas arrivals will be shortened from 10 days to 7 days starting from 0:00 on February 4."

Previously, to minimize the domestic influx of Omicron, the quarantine period for all arrivals, regardless of vaccination status, was set at 10 days.

However, as the response system to Omicron shifted with the shortening of the quarantine period for confirmed COVID-19 cases and close contacts from the 26th, the quarantine management measures for overseas arrivals were also adjusted on this day.

Additionally, the CDCH judged that with Omicron becoming dominant worldwide, the effectiveness of quarantine measures targeting specific countries is low, and thus decided to lift entry restrictions on 11 African countries including South Africa.

Accordingly, from the 4th of next month, short-term foreign visitors from South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, and Zambia will be allowed entry.

The health authorities stated that other quarantine management measures for overseas arrivals will continue as before, including strictly limiting the reasons for issuing quarantine exemption certificates.

The validity period of quarantine exemption certificates issued after the 24th will be shortened to within 14 days from the date of issuance. Furthermore, arrivals holding quarantine exemption certificates issued after the 24th must perform rapid antigen tests using self-test kits on the 3rd and 5th days after entry, and telecommuting is recommended for 3 days after returning.

Overseas arrivals must possess a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) negative confirmation issued within 48 hours prior to departure, and public transportation use is restricted after entry, requiring the use of private vehicles or quarantine transportation networks.